Flying near a group of 'involved people' with a Mini 4 Pro - what should I tell them?

Questions & Answers
1

Hi all,

I am due to fly near a group of people I work with (probably 20 or so) … I have been asked to take an arial photo with the drone for a charity event. I will avoid over flying them, and will take out insurance for the day.

The question is, what do I tell them before the flight?

Do I have to advise them what to do if the drone goes out of control (for whatever reason).
It will be in a pretty large open area, so lots of space for them to move if required, but are they better to just stay put and just turn their back to the drone?

It’s clearly a very unlikely event, and I will mitigate as much as I can by staying as far away as I can, but I do want to give helpful / useful advice if I can.

As this is not something I would typically do, I’d appreciate any guidance you can give.

Thanks all

2

I usually just tell them that the drone will be flying and the purpose of the flight. I don’t make a big thing of it. I don’t give any “safety” instructions.

If they know about the flight then they have become involved.

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3

Not stricly correct. Extract from A2 CofC training material:

A person may be considered to be ‘involved’ when they have:

  • Given explicit consent to the drone operator or to the remote pilot to be part of the drone operation (even indirectly as a spectator or just accepting to be overflown by the drone); and received from the drone operator or from the remote pilot clear instructions and safety precautions to follow in case the drone exhibits any unplanned behaviour.

In principle, in order to be considered a ‘person involved’, one:

  • is able to decide whether or not to participate in the UAS operation;
  • broadly understands the risks involved;
  • has reasonable safeguards during the drone operations, introduced by the site manager and the aircraft operator; and
  • is not restricted from taking part in the event or activity if they decide not to participate in the drone operation.

As a drone operator, make sure you always give a safety briefing to people whom you want to be ‘involved’ with your drone operation.

The person involved is expected to follow the directions and safety precautions provided and the drone operator or remote pilot should check by asking simple questions to make sure that the directions and safety precautions have been properly understood.

Spectators or any other people gathered for sports activities or other mass public events for which the drone operation is not the primary focus are generally considered to be ‘uninvolved persons’.

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4

I don’t suppose it says what should be in the safety briefing?

5

Apart from requesting their agreement etc as above I would agree on the following:

  1. The planned flightplan (involved people should maintain VLOS to be aware of drone position).
  2. Go and No Go areas (not necessarily cordoned off but rough boundaries).
  3. In the event of a falling or uncontrolled drone what warnings will be issued and the action to take (perhaps stand still and cover face and head…as pretty much all other body parts are recoverable from a drone strike).
  4. Maybe appoint a person to take over RC to RTH drone should you fall ill. Bit OTT but it is referred to in A2 CofC.
  5. Have contact details at hand for nearest ATC and Police in case of Flyaway.
  6. Contact details of Hospital, 1st Aid?

Not fully complete for sure but maybe a starter?

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6

Thanks, that’s a great start :slight_smile:

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7

Maybe include some simple instructions as to what to do when the drone is taking off and landing (i.e. don’t go near it!) and where the designated launch and recovery sites are.

Col has summarised it nicely, you almost have to spell out the obvious. Clearly some people will need it to be spelt out, more than others might… :smile::+1:t2:

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